TMZ Sports - Page 2

J.D. Vance and Ted Cruz have a lot more than bragging rights on the line when Ohio State and Texas face off in the College Football Playoff ... 'cause both politicians just placed a friendly wager on the Cotton Bowl -- with both hoping their team trumps the other.

The Texas senator laid out the challenge to the Vice President-Elect and Ohio native on Tuesday ... days before the Buckeyes and Longhorns duke it out at AT&T Stadium.

The terms were pretty simple -- the loser would have to deliver food and beer to the winner's front door, all while they rock the opposing team's jersey.

Tyreek Hill's days in Miami aren't over just yet -- the team's head coach and general manager say they never got a formal trade request from the Dolphins' star receiver after he seemingly told reporters he wanted the hell outta town.

Chris Grier and Mike McDaniel met with the media on Tuesday -- two days after learning they'd be back for the 2025-26 season -- and fielded questions about Hill's future with the org. after he said, "I'm out, bro," following Sunday's loss to the Jets.

The third-year head coach said he met with Hill for an hour ... and he felt the frustration from a lackluster season and game got the best of the 30-year-old receiver at the time of his comments.

The Las Vegas Raiders will have a new head coach in 2025 ... they just fired Antonio Pierce.

Mark Davis made the move official on Tuesday afternoon, following a disappointing 4-13 season.

"Antonio grew up a Raiders fan and his Silver and Black roots run deep," the team said in a statement. "We are grateful for his ability to reignite what it means to be a Raider throughout the entire organization. We wish nothing but the best for Antonio and his family in the future."

It may be winter, but Patrick Schwarzenegger and his fiancée, Abby Champion, are bringing the heat ... cuddling up on a couple's getaway to Mexico.

Check it out ... the twosome look as in love as ever, putting their respective fit physiques on display in sexy swimsuits for their recent adventure in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

In fact, Patrick looks so buff in one vacay pic, he's reminiscent of his action star father, Arnold Schwarzenegger. The bodybuilding genes are strong in this family, it seems!!!

Tennis star Cameron Norrie lost it during a match on Tuesday, (accidentally) throwing his racket into the stands and nailing a female fan sitting in the first row!

The dangerous moment went down after the 29-year-old British native dropped a point during his ASB Classic match against Facundo Diaz Acosta in New Zealand -- where he was on the verge of losing the second set -- prompting him to fling his racket.

The hardware cleared a short wall and went into the spectators' area.

Luckily, the woman was able to get her hands up to block the racket, preventing it from hitting her in the kisser.

The man accused of killing NHL superstar Johnny Gaudreau and his little brother last year just pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges against him.

Sean Higgins issued the pleas in a New Jersey court room at a post-indictment arraignment on Tuesday morning ... turning down an offer from prosecutors that would have resulted in a 35-year prison sentence.

The case will now move toward a trial -- although Higgins is due back in court for additional proceedings in February.

LiAngelo Ball's rap career is taking off like no other -- the former UCLA star just landed a spot on the Rolling Loud California lineup ... days after his first rap single blew up on social media.

The popular festival just dropped its slate of artists for 2025 ... and Gelo's name sits among some heavy hitters in the industry -- like A$AP Rocky, Playboi Carti, Peso Pluma, YG, Quavo and Ab-Soul.

It's a massive come-up for Gelo ... after all, his debut, "Tweaker," was officially published on Jan. 3 -- but has since taken a world of its own.

Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy just revealed one of his employees has passed away at just 32 years old after a battle with cancer ... sharing a heartfelt tribute to Jonathan Stanko.

Portnoy issued his condolences on Tuesday ... saying Stanko was beloved during his time at the outlet's New York offices for nearly four years, which he admitted was "very rare at Barstool."

"It's the 1st time we've had to deal with something this heavy in the 20 years of Barstool," Portnoy said on social media. "A cruel reminder not to take a day for granted because tomorrow isn’t promised to anybody. #stankostrong."

Lucky enough to grab an NFL playoff ticket this month? Better come to the stadium hungry ... 'cause TMZ Sports has learned a few teams are offering up some new items for the games -- and they're HUGE!!

The Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles and Houston Texans are putting out three new dishes -- in partnership with Aramark Sports + Entertainment -- for their January games ... and each is probably going to take fans more than one fork to finish.

At Arrowhead Stadium, Travis Kelce supporters can get their hands on "Touchdown Toast" -- a massive French toast feast that includes berry sauce and vanilla ice cream.

Famed Hells Angels biker Chuck Zito says he will NOT be prosecuted for allegedly driving around New York with a bogus license plate ... telling us cops got it all wrong.

We got the "Sons of Anarchy" star at Mulberry Street Pizzeria in Beverly Hills and he told our photog the charges against him were dropped.

As we reported ... the actor and stuntman was arrested in November after a traffic stop in The Bronx. Cops said the Florida dealer plate on his vintage 1968 Chevelle SS was fake, and Chuck was arrested for misdemeanor possession of a forged license plate.

Shaquille O'Neal is moving on from his longstanding feud with Dwight Howard ... saying he has officially "deleted" his nemesis from his life.

The beef has been well documented over the years ... and initially, it mostly stemmed from Howard taking on the "Superman" nickname, which Shaq was known to use over the course of his Hall of Fame career.

Howard revisited their history during a recent podcast episode ... saying he was so pissed off over it all, he considered showing up at the TNT studios to confront Shaq -- as an old-fashioned beatdown might be the only way to resolve their issues.

Gilbert Arenas' 43rd birthday was ass in the best way possible -- the ex-NBA star was surprised with his very own dancer right in the middle of his podcast ... with his fiancée present for the whole thing!!

The former Wizards great recorded an episode of his "Gil's Arena" show with Kenyon Martin, Brandon Jennings, Nick "Swaggy P" Young and Josiah Johnson on Monday ... and considering it was a celebration, the crew presented him with a cake -- and then more cake.

Arenas was caught off guard by the gesture, but understood the assignment when he was given a bag full of cash ... as he immediately started throwing bills at the special guest, who was rocking a rainbow-colored fishnet ensemble.

Hulk Hogan didn't receive a warm welcome at Netflix's 'Monday Night RAW' event in Los Angeles last night ... in fact, he got verbally body-slammed by a sea of booing fans as he tried to give a speech.

The WWE star showed up at the jam-packed Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California and made one of his grand entrances, walking out to the crowd as "Real American" blared throughout the arena.

Check out the video ... Hulk, wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with his "Real American Beer" brand, starts speaking to the audience ... who collectively booed the legendary wrestler.

Ricky Pearsall is making 2025 a year of forgiveness ... saying he wants to forgive the teenager who shot him during a botched armed robbery in San Francisco, and wouldn't mind talking to the shooter.

The 49ers rookie opened up on his whirlwind rookie season during cleanout day at the team facility -- after his squad missed out on the postseason -- and as harrowing as the August robbery attempt was, the 24-year-old WR isn't making judgments about the teen's character.

"I don't know how he grew up," Pearsall said. "I can't judge him as a man just based off one action that he made. As violent as a crime as it was, god forbid him doing that to somebody else."

Dallas Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey is issuing a "my bad" after nailing a cheerleader with his kick on Sunday ... writing a personal note to the woman and wishing her well following the mishap.

Michelle Siemienowski shared the apology on her Instagram ... one day after she was hit in the head during Aubrey's kickoff in the Cowboys' Week 18 matchup against the Washington Commanders.

The incident went viral, and Aubrey -- a pro soccer player before signing with Dallas in 2023 -- did his best to state the obvious and let Siemienowski it was an accident.

Nikki Bella's clearly beginning a new chapter after finalizing her divorce from Artem Chigvintsev ... she showed up to WWE's big 'Raw' event on Monday night -- and made waves with her skintight 'fit and sexy dance moves.

The 41-year-old hit the red carpet in Los Angeles for the wrestling org's first-ever show on Netflix ... stunning viewers as she strutted her stuff in a leather getup.

She didn't touch the mat during the show -- but she nonetheless had fans talking about her ... as she showed off her stuff to a loud ovation during an appearance on the Intuit Dome's jumbotron.